Switch mounting



y 1 P. ZASADNY 2,936,329

SWITCH MOUNTING Filed Sept. 5, 1957 Inventor PETER ZASADNY #3 vH-brnegs United States Patent SWITCH MOUNTING Peter Zasadny, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to Portable Electric Tools, Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application September 5, 1957, Serial No.682,180

1 Claim. (Cl. 174-53) This invention relates to the mounting of electrical switches and particularly to the mounting of such switches inportable electric tools and the like.

In the portable electric tools, it is desirable in many instances to mount a switch within the housing of the tool so that the operating element of the tool projects from the housing for actuation by the user, and such switches may take many different forms. In such tools it is considered desirable to mount the switch in the housing without the use of screws, rivets or similar fastening devices, and with many kinds of switches where the switches are made accurately and with reasonable tolerances, this is accomplished by locating the switch in an accurately dimensioned complementary recess in one of the sections of the tool housing so that the switch will be held in such recess when the sections of the casing are in their assems bled relationship.

Switchesthat are made toclose tolerances such that the above describedmethod of mounting may be used are in most instances the more expensive types, of switches, and where the inexpensive types of switches are used, it is found that the dimensions are not maintained within the limits of tolerances which will allow the foregoing method of mounting to be employed. As a result,

where such less expensive switches have been used it has been necessary to resort to the use of screws, rivets or fastening bolts for securing the switch in position in the tool housings.

In view of the foregoing it is the primary object of the present invention to enable switches that are made with relatively great variations in dimensions to be mounted in the housings of electrical tools and the like without the use of screws, rivets, bolts and the like, and an object related to the foregoing is to enable switches of the aforesaid character to be held in position in a portable tool by means which may be readily put in place and which are relatively independent of variations in the dimensions of the switch and of the mounting recesses in the tool housing.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to enable switches to be held in position in the housing of a portable electrictool or the like by spring means which compensate for variations in the dimensions of the parts that are thus associated.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claim, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof, and what is now considered to be the best mode in which to apply these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the in vention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is an outside elevational view of a portion of a I portable electric tool showing a switch mounted in the tool housing in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view taken partially in section along the stantially along the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of one of the spring clips that is employed in mounting the switch.

Fig. 5 is a plan view'of the spring clip; and

Fig. 6 is an end view of the spring clip.

For purposes of disclosure the switch mounting of the present invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a portable tool 10 having a sectional housing 11 in which a switch 12 is mounted. The portable tool 10 may be of any of the known kinds or types, and the switch 12 may be disposed in any desired location in respect to such housing as dictated by the type and design of the tool.

The switch 12 as herein shown is of the slider type having a switch casing 12C that is an elongated box-like shape within which the switch mechanism is housed. The

switch 12 has an actuating arm 12A projected from its flat face 12F, while spaced connecting terminals 12T extend: from its rear face 12R. The forward face 12F is formed by a metal front plate of the casing 12C, and at opposite ends of the switch casing 12C the plate projects to provide mounting ears 12E that form continuations of the forward face 12F of the casing, and which are provided with mounting perforations 12F.

The mounting perforations 121 in the mounting ears 12E of the switch 12 arenormally utilized to receive fastening bolts, rivets or screws for securing the switch 12 in position, as for example, in housing of a portable electric tool, but under the present invention, such mount-' ing ears 12E and their perforations 12F are utilized in adifferent manner such that the use of fastening screws, rivets or bolts is eliminated. This novel and advantageous mounting is provided under the present invention by so forming the sections 11L andllR of the casing 11 that positioning means are cast in the housing sections for roughly positioning and determining the location of the switch in the housing, and through the further provision of resilient means acting between the portions of the housing and the mounting ears 12E of the switch to hold the switch 12 firmly in substantially predetermined position in respect to the housing. Thus the two sections 11L and 11R of the housing 11 meet in a parting plane P, and an opening 14 is provided for the switch actuator 12A by appropriately notching adjacent edges of a pair of meeting walls 111L and 111R. The walls 111L and 111R also are recessed in a matched relationship to provide clearance space 16 to receive the casing 12C of the switch, and at the locations where the ears 12E project endwise from the casing 12C, undercut extensions 16E are formed from the clearance opening or space 16. Thus, in providing the clearance space 16 and the undercut recesses or extensions 12E, a downwardly facing surface 17 is provided as an inner or rear wall surface within the wall sections 111R and 111L and against which the forward face 12F of the casing 12 may bear, and opposite the end portions of the surface 17, a lower shelf 18 is'provided. The shelves 18 provide reaction surfaces facing toward the surface 17 of the wall.

Thus, under the present invention, when the switch 12 is in position within the clearance space 16 and with its ears 12E projecting into the undercut extensions 16E, the switch 12 is held firmly in position with its forward face 12F against the surface 17 by spring means that are located within the extensions 16E so as to act against the lower surfaces of the ears 12E.

Such spring means in the present instance take the form of a pair of similar spring clips 20, one of which is shown in detail in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The spring Patented" May 10, 1960' clips 20 are made from flat spring steel to provide an upper bar ZiiU that is adapted to engage the lower face of one of the ears 1213, and midway between its ends the upper bar ZtDU has an upward embossure or projection 2M that is adapted to fit with a positioning action into the mounting perforation 12F of the mounting ear.

At its opposite ends, the mounting bar ZQU is re: versely bent at 283 to provide spring arms 28A that project downwardly and toward each other,-as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4, so as to be lecated beneath the bar 20U. The form of the spring clips 20 is such that when the spring clip is in position beneath one of the mounting ears 12E and is inserted into the recess extensions 16E, the arms 20A will be bent upwardly so that the spring clip 2% is under compression and will act to urge the switch casing 12C upwardly to hold the forward or upward surface 12F thereof in firm engagement with the rear wall surface 17.

Through the use of the positioning spring clips 28, the switch 12 may be readily mounted in position in the housing of a portable tool and may be effectively held in a fixed position therein, and this is accomplished even though there may be fairly wide variations in the dimensions of the elements of the switch 12 or in the dimensions of the mounting surfaces that are provided in the tool housing. In accomplishing such effective mounting of the switch, the present invention enables a more economical kind or type of switch to be used in portable tools without making it necessary to adopt screw or rivet type fastenings which involve objectionable cost and assembly time.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention provides an improved switch mounting that makes it possible to economically use those types of switches where there is considerable variation in the dimensions of the switches, and it will also be apparent that the present invention enables the switch '4 to be put in place readily and easily so that rapid and economical production may be achieved.

Thus while I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appending claim.

I claim:

A quick-mounting structure for mounting a conventional switch, of the kind having a casing with an operating member and connecting terminals projecting from opposite faces of the casing and apertured ears project ing from opposite ends of the casing, in a portable tool housing, of the kind having a pair of separately related matched rigid housing sections providing an internal chamber defined by walls that meet in a plane of separation normal to at least one of said walls, the improvement that consists in matched notches formed in meeting edges of said one wall to define an opening through which the operating member of the switch projects with said ears engaging the inside surface of said one Wall and said terminals extending inwardly into said chamber, integral shelf elements formed on said wall within the chamber and disposed opposite and in spaced relation to the respective ears of the switch, and spring clips having embossures engaging the apertures of said ears and having spring arms acting resiliently between said shelf elements and said ears to hold said ears in position against said inside surface of said walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,817,573 Martin Aug. 4, 1931 1,918,450 Broeske July 18, 1933 2,560,506 Despard July 10, 1951 2,633,519 Vance Mar. 31, 1953 

